


Cue the Music

by itsthedetails



Category: CW Network RFP
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-24
Updated: 2010-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-21 22:35:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsthedetails/pseuds/itsthedetails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared and Jensen are best friends and co-workers, but Jensen wants more than that. He just can't figure out how to tell Jared that, until he comes up with a plan to tell Jared how he feels through the songs he sings at karaoke. Of course there is always a kink in every plan...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cue the Music

Everything began and ended at karaoke; at least that was how Jensen saw it. The first time he sang karaoke was with Jared. It was during his 2L summer and both he and Jared were Summer Associates at Morgan & Singer. It was the first week of the program and barely any of the thirty-five Summers had gotten a chance to know each other yet, except that everyone somehow already knew Jared.

They were all long since past the point of pleasantly buzzed and well onto stumbling drunk the first time Jensen sang karaoke with Jared. Jared was, of course, the first to grab a mic, dragging Jensen with him to the front of the room. Jensen made half-hearted attempts to protest, but it was almost impossible to say no when Jared handed him the second mic with a goofy grin.

Jared called something to Danneel, the Recruiting Assistant, that Jensen couldn't quite hear and she laughed saying, "Don't worry we'll go easy on you the first time." Then the music was blasting and Jared was belting out the first line to Sweet Home Alabama.

Jensen stood frozen, staring at the monitor with the words flashing by, until Jared threw an arm around his shoulders, grinning so hard his dimples creased his cheeks in such a way that Jensen couldn't help but join in as the next verse began.

***

Five years later, Jared and Jensen were still friends. They're now both fourth year Associates at Morgan & Singer, and they still make fools of themselves about once a month singing karaoke.

Jensen was in his office, his nose buried in documents, when Jared poked his head through the door. “Jen, hey, earth to Jensen. Put down the highlighter and step away from your desk. You and I are going to lunch."

Jensen barely glanced up, as he kept reading. “Can’t today, Jared, I promised Kripke I’d have a draft of this brief on his desk tomorrow.”

He heard Jared huff out a sigh, but instead of leaving he stepped into Jensen’s office and grabbed his trusty yellow highlight right from his hand.

“You’ve got to eat and all I’m asking for is a half hour for lunch in the cafeteria. I won’t even drag you out of the building for real food.”

Quickly glancing at his watch, Jensen stood; he might as well give in now because Jared was relentless when he thought Jensen was pushing himself too hard. Besides, he was actually hungry.

They rode the elevator down from thirty-seven to thirty-one, Jared chattering on about an interview he did that morning for the Summer program. "Can you believe I'm interviewing Summer candidates? I feel like it was just yesterday we were Summers ourselves."

After placing his sandwich order, Jensen looked over at Jared where he had an obscene amount of food piled on his tray.

"Hmm, I guess, it does seem like no time has passed at all."

Jared paid for his lunch and they found an empty table near a window. "Well, that's because you never leave your office. It's all work, work, and more work with you. Sometimes you have to get out of your little cave and talk to people." To punctuate his point, he waved at a few people at the next table that Jensen only vaguely recognized.

"Jared, I want to make Partner by the time I'm thirty-five. In order to do that I've got to put in my time."

"Just don't forget karaoke Thursday night. I think Danneel invited Matt the new guy in the Litigation department to come. He's pretty cute."

"Whatever, you know I'm not interested."

"I remember, you don't dip your pen in the company ink, doesn't mean I can't."

Jensen looked away, ignoring Jared's joke and finished off his lunch.

***

On Thursday, Jensen walked with Danneel over to their favorite karaoke bar, High Note. They were running late, but neither of them were in that much of a hurry. Danneel knew what it was like to have to finish work before leaving the office. She was only just starting out as the Recruiting Assistant when Jensen was a Summer at Morgan & Singer, but she'd worked hard and now she was the Senior Recruiting Coordinator running the entire Summer Program practically by herself.

Besides Jared, Danneel was Jensen's closest friend. They clicked that first summer and though she never admitted it, Jensen suspected she had a crush on him back then. Now she knew better, not only did she know he's gay, but she's the only person that knew he's in love with his best friend.

"I almost skipped out tonight."

Danneel looked up with surprise. "What? Why?"

"I wasn't sure if I could handle another night of Jared having a few too many beers and getting even more handsy than normal."

Shaking her head, "Well that's your own fault. Stop using that stupid excuse of not mixing work with romance, get over yourself, and ask him out already."

There was a crisp breeze blowing as they crossed 6th Avenue and Jensen shivered. "I can't, what if he says no. What if it ruins our friendship? He'll make other friends in a heartbeat, but I'll wind up like old Mr. Lehne, practically living in his office with no family or friends, only his work to complain about."

They arrived outside the karaoke bar, the bass from the rooms muffled out on the sidewalk.

Danneel looked at him with sympathy. "You know that's not true, but if you don't say anything you _will_ wind up missing out on Jared."

***

Inside, their friends were already gathered, music played as Adrienne worked her way through her choice of song this evening. Jensen took a deep swallow from his beer, the cool refreshing liquid quenching his thirst. He looked around the room and spotted Jared talking to the new guy, Matt. Jared was smiling in a way Jensen easily recognized. It was the same way Jared smiled at all his one night conquests.

He watched as Jared laughed at something Matt said, leaning in purposefully and letting his hand drop lightly onto Matt’s shoulder. Seeing it so blatant and out there made Jensen’s stomach clench. He finished off his beer in two gulps, pushing the feeling down, and went back to the bar for another drink.

Danneel and Genevieve sang together, giggling their way through most of the lyrics, like they tended to do when they sang together and Jensen without really meaning to got drunker watching Jared shamelessly flirting.

Finally, he needed to do something or he was going to drive himself crazy just sitting there. He hadn’t sung yet tonight, he didn’t have a song picked out and he wasn’t next in line, but when Danneel and Genevieve finished, he stood to grab one of their mics. Danneel steadied him as he wobbled at the front of the room, but he shrugged her off. Aldis was holding the song controller and asked Jensen what he wanted to sing. He waved at him and told him it didn’t matter; he’d sing whatever shuffled in.

As the next song queued up he could see Danneel looking on with concern, as he watched Jared touching Matt’s arm leaning in close to whisper in his ear. He couldn’t look anymore and he turned back toward the karaoke monitor.

He’d missed the song title card, but as soon as the first chords played out of the speakers he’d known he’d made a mistake not picking a specific song to sing.

He turned to Aldis with daggers in his eyes as he let the first lines go past unsung. Aldis waved his palms and shrugged miming that he didn’t choose it, but he had a shit-eating grin on his face that made Jensen not quite believe him.

He was about to grab for the song controller to skip the song, but Jared had looked up from his conversation with Matt and totally focused on Jensen.

He couldn’t bear to lose Jared’s attention and he thought ‘Fuck it.’ He picked up the last line before the chorus started and belted out, “you make me feel…shiny and new.”

He locked his eyes on Jared and went for it, singing, “Like a virgin, touched for the very first time.” Letting the alcohol buzz through him, he felt loose and started to sway his hips getting into the song. He focused on Jared, singing to him as if no one else was in the room.

Surprisingly, he was having a good time with it, grinning as he strutted back and forth in front of the room, feeding off having Jared’s attention solely on him. It was more intoxicating than the alcohol pulsing in his veins. He really went for it as the song wound down, touching his chest and leaning back against the wall.

As the last notes faded, the room burst into applause, Jared standing, forgetting about Matt and bounding across the room to throw his arm around his shoulders. “I didn't know you had it in you, Jen, but damn that was awesome.”

Jensen let himself lean against Jared a little more than he really needed to and suggested he and Jared sing together as soon as he made a stop in the men’s room.

As he splashed water on his face, an idea formed in his head that he knew was ridiculous, but if it worked, he didn’t care at all.

***

Three weeks later, Danneel had Jensen just about convinced his idea was stupid and he should just talk to Jared.

"Just tell him how you feel, Jensen. This is Jared we're talking about here. He's your best friend and even if he's not interested in you like that, he'd never make you feel bad about it and he certainly wouldn't abandon your friendship over it either."

"I can't do that, Dani. I can run a difficult transaction, I can talk to clients, I can develop business, but I can't talk about my personal life. I can't take the risk, especially with Jared."

"Can't take the risk? Jen, you're talking about standing up in front of all our friends at karaoke and singing a love song to Jared. How is that less of a risk?"

He huffed exasperatedly. "Not a love song, just a song to get him to notice me. Something that will make him think about me in more than a friendly way."

He hated the look of pity on her face as she shook her head at him.

"Look, I'm not saying that this will work or that I think it's a great idea, but if it's what you have to do I'll help you."

"I know it's not the greatest way to go about this, but I just can't talk to him either. Besides, I don't even know if I'll do it anymore."

***

The next afternoon, Jensen took a break from his work and walked around the floor to Jared's office. Maybe Danneel was right; if he could just talk to Jared maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He gave himself a pep talk in his head as he turned the corner to where Jared's office was, but stopped short just out of view of the office door. He heard Jared's laugh, big and deep, filtering into the hall.

Creeping forward, he peeked around the empty secretarial pod in front of Jared's office and saw Matt in Jared's office. He was standing behind Jared—too close to Jared—as Jared showed him something on his computer screen. Knowing Jared, he'd probably found a way around the block on Youtube and they were likely watching something they shouldn't be at work.

Quickly checking over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him lurking, he leaned closer trying to hear what they were talking about. It was hard to make out the conversation, but Jensen could easily see Jared's flirtatious smile and Matt eagerly returning it.

Turning on his heel, Jensen hurried back to his office. His cheeks burned with embarrassment and jealousy. The only time Jared had ever looked at him like that was when he sang at karaoke a few weeks ago. He wanted Jared to look at him like that all the time and he knew trying to fumble and stumble through talking to Jared about how he felt would never garner him a look like that.

If he wasn't sure about his idea before, he definitely was now.

***

All afternoon Jensen had butterflies in his stomach, and each time he looked at the clock those butterflies started flapping wildly. He thought about dropping the whole thing, but every time he did, he remembered the way Jared flirted with Matt and he was reminded of why he was doing this.

Around six, when Jared came by his office to see if he was ready to leave, Jensen surprised him by shutting down his computer and grabbing his coat. Jensen was jittery as he walked with Jared, like Jared was somehow going to see right through him and know what he was planning for tonight. Once they arrived at the High Note, Jensen beelined right for the bar; he'd need a few drinks if he was going to do this.

While everyone got settled into the room and started programming songs, Jensen hung back, he'd want to ensure there would be plenty of people in front of him before his turn would pop up. He programmed a few of his karaoke staples in first and then checked the catalog once more to program in his ‘Jared’ song.

As everyone else settled in for a good time, Jensen couldn't control his nerves. They only thing that helped was that Matt wasn't here tonight. Danneel sat next to him at one point telling him he had to calm down, people were beginning to think something was wrong the way he keep zoning out during conversations and staring.

He finally started to relaxed, letting himself enjoy Aldis and Jared goofing around while singing, but the butterflies came back full force when the first song he'd programmed in popped onto the screen. Adrienne handed the mic him, knowing it was one of Jensen's regular songs.

Aldis looked up when Jensen stood. "No Madonna this week?"

Flipping him off, Jensen started to sing. He hadn't needed to worry because as soon as he started singing the words flowed easily and he began to loosen up.

When his second choice followed, he started singing right away, smiling and laughing as his friends sang along. When the song came to an end, and his song for Jared loaded—the title flashing up on the screen—Gen asked the room who was up next.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Uh—this one's me too. I'm trying for a little variety."

The bass started and Jensen closed his eyes and sang, "I want you to want me, I need you to need me, I'd love you to love me, I'm begging you to beg me."

Looking around the room as he sang he realized no one was looking at him out of the ordinary; some were talking and laughing and some were singing along. Once he got past the initial chest tightening fear, he focused on Jared who was sitting next to Jake from Watson Ellis. Jared may have been talking to Jake, but he was watching Jensen.

Jared's gaze set on him, made him tingle and as the next verse started he locked his eyes with Jared and sang like there was no one else in the room. At first Jared just met his gaze, but then once he realized Jensen wasn't looking away he grinned.

Jensen's heart jumped in his chest as he kept singing, eyes locked on Jared. As the song neared the end and the lyrics slowed, it finally filtered in that most of the room was clapping and singing along. Jensen never let himself look away from Jared though, holding onto the connection they had while he sang.

When the song finally ended, Jensen could feel his mouth stretch into a wide smile. He'd never felt happier as he basked in Jared's attention. He eventually had to break his gaze, when Danneel came over, playfully knocking into him and grabbing the mic from him. She winked at him as she accidentally on purpose shoved him Jared's direction.

Danneel started singing and he flopped into the seat next Jared, not minding at all when Jared slung his arm around his shoulders.

***

Jensen woke Sunday morning still basking in the glow of Jared's undivided attention three days later. He'd barely seen Jared at work on Friday and Jensen had been in the office most of Saturday afternoon, but today he had nothing planned. He stretched and then settled comfortably in his nest of blankets.

The sun was peeking around the edges of his curtains and he could tell this was going to be a beautifully day. He'd almost fallen back asleep when he heard the annoying ring tone Jared had programmed for himself into Jensen's phone.

He laid for a moment thinking about Jared, but then groped at his end table to put an end to the endless ringing tone. "'Lo"

Jared sounded perky and happy, like he'd been up for hours. "Get your ass out of bed, Ackles. It's a beautiful day and you're not wasting it in bed. Meet me in front of your building in fifteen minutes ready to chase me."

Jared hung up on him before he even had a chance to protest. He groaned, not wanting to leave to his comfy bed, but Jared would just ring his buzzer all morning not letting him sleep if he wasn't out there waiting when Jared got here.

He brushed his teeth and washed his face, waking up a bit. Under a pile of dirty suit pants he found his sneakers and dressed in an old UT t-shirt and some shorts. By the time he made it down to the sidewalk, Jared was already waiting.

He tossed him a bottle of water and they started walking towards the park. Jensen had just finished telling Jared about the transaction he was working on when they reached the beginning of the path they always ran on. It was the first truly Spring day in the city and the park was crowded. They started out slow, keeping pace with each other, but as the crowd thinned a bit they picked up their pace, glancing at each other every so often—smiling and egging each other on.

By the time they'd finished their regular course Jensen was riding on such an incredible high from the combination of the Spring air and the Jared's flirty smile, he could have easily ran another couple of miles. They collapsed back in the grass, breathing heavily and gulping back water.

When they'd finally caught their breath and sat up, Jensen couldn't help the long glance he took—Jared's tank hugged every muscle and showed off the lean cut of his biceps. If they weren't in the middle of the park surrounded by people, he might have given in and just leaned over to kiss him.

He caught himself though, when Jared climbed to his feet, offering Jensen a hand to help him up and said, "Let's head back to my place, we can both take quick showers and then grab breakfast. I'm craving bagels."

Jared walked ahead and Jensen had to shake himself to catch up rather than follow behind staring at Jared's ass in those mesh shorts.

***

On Monday, Jensen had lunch with Jared; they even went outside the building to a real restaurant instead of just grabbing a sandwich in the cafeteria. They'd done this plenty times before, but somehow Jensen felt different. They talked about the same things—work, their families, whether they thought the rumor that Aldis was actually dating Beth from Ford & Hutton was true—it could have been any lunch conversation except that Jensen thought Jared was looking at him just a little differently. It was in the way he smiled at him and in the way he listened to Jensen's boring story about the brief he's working on.

It made Jensen feel giddy and he couldn't keep himself from returning Jared's smile full force.

On the walk back to the office, Jensen casually asked what Jared's plans were for the weekend.

Jared stopped for a second on the sidewalk causing the other pedestrians to throw them dirty looks.

"I forgot to tell you. We're planning dinner and karaoke for Saturday night. Danneel's friend Sophia is coming into town this weekend and she wants to go to karaoke."

It's perfect, another chance to sing again. "I'm in, who else is coming?"

Jared rattles off a list of names of the usual suspects, Aldis, Adrienne, Gen, Jake, of course Dani and her friend and Matt.

He stiffens at the mention of Matt's name, but shrugs it off. He knows what to do to keep Jared's attention on him.

***

Saturday comes quickly and Jensen's frantic because he doesn't know what he should sing tonight. It's like his brain shut off and he could not think of one single song. He puts his iPod on shuffle when he attaches it to the stereo and as he showers and gets dressed for dinner, nothing strikes him.

By the time he's ready to leave the apartment and head over to the restaurant he's a bit frantic. He must have looked how he was feeling because an older woman moved away from him on the subway. When he arrived at the restaurant he forced himself to calm down, if he didn't sing tonight it wasn't a big deal they'd have their regular karaoke night in two weeks anyway. He took a deep breath and went inside. They'd picked a Chinese restaurant not far from the High Note and it was crowded with the Saturday night crowd.

He immediately spotted Jared waving to him from a table near the back. He waved back and started to work his way through the tables, his smile briefly dropped when he saw Matt sitting next to Jared. When he got to the table Jared pointed to the open seat on his left and said, "Saved you a seat. We're just waiting for Aldis, guess who he's bringing tonight—Beth! I was totally right about them dating."

Jensen took his seat and introduced himself to Danneel's friend. She was pretty, brunette, great smile and absolutely shared Dani's wicked sense of humor. He could tell the two of them tonight would be deadly.

After Aldis and Beth arrived and their meal got going, Jensen took a moment to really look at Matt. He was good-looking, Jensen couldn't deny that. In fact he sort of looked like a younger version of Mr. Morgan. Jensen had heard he was a good litigator, that the Firm was lucky to get him, but so far Jensen didn't see anything really special about him—other than he was obviously trying to keep Jared's attention all throughout dinner.

Once they were at the High Note Jensen forgot about Matt for a while and remembered he needed a song to sing.

He sat with the song catalog, flipping through pages and not finding anything that interested him. Danneel flopped next to him on the couch, already a little drunk and grabbed the book from his hands. "So what's it going to be tonight? Got something up your sleeve to make Jared take you home tonight?"

Jensen frantically whispered at her to shut up, looking around to make sure no one had heard her. He grabbed the book back from her, feeling his ears burning with embarrassment.

She scooted closer and rested a hand on his arm. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a bitch. You haven't picked a song yet?"

He shrugged again, letting the book slip into his lap. Danneel takes the book back. "Do you trust me?"

He looked at her uncertainly, but answered. "I guess."

She gestured to the song controller on the table, "Put a few of your regulars in and I'll pick a song for you."

He hesitated, wanting to grab the book back, tell her to forget it, but she looked at him so sincerely he knew she wouldn't mess with him. He put in a few songs and then handed the controller over to her.

***

He'd had a few more drinks and Jensen was feeling much more loose and relaxed. Everyone kept moving around the room, swapping seats while talking, that Matt hadn't been able to monopolize Jared. It also meant that Jensen hadn't been able to really talk with Jared either.

He'd almost made himself forget that he let Danneel pick a song for him that is until he was up in front of the group belting out his first song. The room was warm; he's sweating the way Jared usually sweats. He felt his shirt sticking to his back and his tongue felt like a cotton ball in his mouth.

He kept glancing to Danneel trying to read her expression—hoping she wouldn't pick something to utterly embarrass him.

He swallowed down his beer while his second song loaded and let himself go loose as he started to sing. He laughed a little and just let loose like he would any other night.

As the song came to an end he held onto that relaxed feeling. The title card for Dani's song comes up. He can't place it just by the title, but it's a Pretender's song. Everyone was looking at him and he faltered for a second, glancing quickly over at Danneel.

She looked a little unsure, but as the song started she smiled brightly at him.

He stumbled a bit over the first few lines, until he realized he knew the song. He started singing looking over at Jared, who of course was sitting next to Matt again. He raised his voice as the chorus came, "Gonna make you, make you, make you notice."

Jared was watching him and he couldn't help but smile, glancing at the screen quickly to make sure he knew the lines, but quickly locked his gaze back on Jared. "Cause I'm going to make you see—there's nobody else here. No one like me."

The way Jared smiled at him made him feel light and happy. He wanted to feel like this all the time—wanted Jared to look at him like this all the time. The song was coming to an end, the chorus repeating—Cause I'm going to make you see—there's nobody else here. No one like me—and he felt like he was singing right to Jared with no else in the room.

When the song ended, he could feel the flush on his cheeks. He was torn between returning to his seat near Dani and Sophia or sliding into the empty one between Jared and Matt. He figured if he had gone this far he might as well take it a step further.

He grabbed a fresh beer from the tray and sat next to Jared as Aldis and Beth got up to sing. He turned his back to Matt clearly cutting him out the conversation. "So what did you think?"

Jared's eyes practically sparkled in the dim room and he threw a loose arm over Jensen's shoulders. "Awesome. Didn't think you could handle Crissie Hynde, but you rocked it."

He didn't think the grin on his face could get any bigger, but when he heard Matt huff behind him and get up to talk to Jake he couldn't stop his smile from widening.

He spent the rest of the night flirting with Jared. Or at least being as flirtatious as he could be without being blatant about it. Matt eventually wound up back next to Jared, but every time Jared smiled or laughed at something Jensen said he ticked a point into his column.

The end of the night came quickly and Jensen was pretty buzzed and feeling really good. Everyone was slowly gathering their stuff and leaving. Jensen made a stop in the men's room; motioning to Jared he'd be right out.

He'd never admit it, but he giggled a little when he was washing his hands thinking about Jared. He was hoping Jared would want to head over to the diner and share some mozzarella cheese fries with him to soak up some of the alcohol.

When he got off the elevator and saw Matt standing on the sidewalk with Jared, his smile dimmed. He shrugged on his coat and headed out into the cool evening air. Aldis and Beth were just waving goodbye and Dani and Sophia were waiting for him.

It was a little awkward the way everyone was just standing around, not really talking, but no one was leaving either. Jensen didn't want to suggest the diner in front of everyone or at least in front of Matt. He wanted him to just leave already, but he was hovering close to Jared.

Danneel seemed to be hovering too, shooting concerned looks in his direction. Finally, he got tired of standing and turned to Jared, trying to keep his voice low. "I was thinking of stopping by the diner, grabbing some late night snacks. I know you're always up for food, you want to come?"

He felt on display, with Dani and Sophia watching him closely.

Jared took a step further from the group and ducked his head to whisper to him. He smelled like beer and his eyes were slightly glassy; he grinned slyly, "Actually, I'm going to head out with Matt. He invited me back to his place." Jared gave him an exaggerated wink and nudged him with his elbow.

Jared said goodbye to Danneel and Sophia and headed off toward the subway with Matt. Jensen could barely squeak out a goodbye as he stood shocked on the sidewalk. He kept swallowing, trying to force the lump in his throat down, but it wouldn't pass.

Danneel came up behind him, her palm sliding across his shoulders until she was hugging him. He couldn't deal with her pity though and shrugged her off. "I have to go home."

She reached out to him, almost shouting after him. "Jensen, wait, come to the diner with us."

He kept walking, his shoulders hunched, he couldn't talk about. He just wanted to get home and crawl into bed.

***

The only reason he got out of bed at all on Sunday was his bladder was screaming at him. His phone had been ringing all morning and he was sure by now Danneel was freaking out, but he didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

He grabbed his phone when he crawled back into bed; he ignored the voicemail notifications and texted Danneel. _I'm fine. Just leave me alone today._

A few minutes later the red light blinked with a returned message. _I'm giving you today, that's it._ And then a moment after that, _I'm sorry._

He tossed the phone onto the nightstand and buried himself under the covers.

***

By the time Monday rolled around Jensen still felt like shit, but at least he knew he wouldn't have to face Jared today. The big transaction he'd been working on with Kripke was getting closer and closer to closing. This week was booked solid with client meetings, meetings with opposing counsel and conference calls. Even when he was in the office he wouldn't have a spare second to stop for lunch or even a coffee break with Jared.

He said his hellos and good mornings and then bunkered down for work. Jared understood the kind of weeks Jensen had in front of him and kept his distance.

Jensen hoped by the time his deal had closed Jared's fling with Matt would be over and done with like all his other flings.

Danneel tried to talk to Jensen, but he assured her he was fine, too busy to think about it right now and certainly not worried. Jared and Matt would run its course and then Jensen would pick his plan right up again—at least he convinced himself of that—even if Dani looked like she didn't believe him.

***

After almost two weeks of late nights with Mr. Kripke and the senior Associate on this deal, it was finally—finally closed. If he saw one o'clock in the morning in the office one more day in a row he might have lost it.

He took his time showering on this Thursday morning, enjoying having more than five minutes to get ready in the morning and no need to be in the office before nine o'clock. He finally felt human again and just in time for karaoke tonight.

He stopped at Dean & Deluca for coffee and breakfast on his way into work and as he rode the elevator up to his floor he couldn't keep a smile off his face. He got to his office and took his time settling, trying to make sense of the mess on his desk from the last two weeks.

He was glad for the distraction when Danneel popped her head into his doorway and before he could even say hello she was closing his door and saying they needed to talk.

"Well Good Morning to you too."  
"I'm glad to see you out of closing-mode, but I really need to talk to you about Jared. And you're probably not gonna like it."

His heart fluttered a bit at the mention of Jared. "Oh, come on please don't burst my bubble on karaoke day. I have the perfect song to sing tonight."

The look on Dani's face made his heart sink though.

She sighed, looking sad. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's better than finding out without warning. I know you thought Jared and Matt would fool around a little bit and then they'd be over, but this time it's different. They're not just sneaking around sleeping together, they're dating. Jared's serious about him, at least as serious as I've ever seen him."

His good mood was officially gone and he felt sick to his stomach.

"What— How—how did this happen? It's been two weeks."

"And you've been buried up to your eyeballs in work. Have you even spoken to Jared for more than a 'hello' in the last two weeks?"

He shook his head, at a complete loss for words.

"I didn't want to have to tell you like this, but he's gonna come in here today and tell you all about it, tell you how much he likes Matt. And I didn't want you to get blind-sided."

He was staring at his half-eaten muffin, but it was like his brain shut off. He couldn't think of a thing to say.

Finally, he was able to look at Dani. She looked so concerned that he really wanted to be able to tell her he was alright. He swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth and said, "Okay."

He took a sip of his coffee, but he couldn't taste anything. "Okay. I know. I can deal with this. I'll be fine, Dani. Get out of here, before your boss is looking for you."

He could tell she didn't believe him, but she stood anyway. "I do really have to get back to my office, but if you need me you know where to find me."

She left him with one last glance and then he was alone.

***

He was not sure why he did it, but he didn't wait for Jared to come to him. Just before lunch he headed around to Jared's office. He forced a smile onto his face and knocked on Jared's door. Immediately, Jared looked up and was smiling at him. "He lives! I feel like I haven't seen you forever. Though I hear you did awesome at the closing. Kripke seemed really impressed."

He nodded and sat in the chair across from Jared. He could do this—talk about work—pretend like he wasn't dying inside. He gave Jared a quick recap of the closing, but for the first time he wasn't excited telling Jared about his accomplishments.

Surprisingly, Jared didn't bring Matt up. In fact, he didn't mention him at all even when Jensen brought up tonight's karaoke and who would be there.

Finally, he bit the bullet and brought it up himself. "So, I hear you and Matt are dating now."

He was expecting one of Jared's big dimpled smiles from the way Danneel had described how Jared was acting with Matt, not the look of surprise that crossed his face, but then he remembered that she said Jared was serious about Matt. She never mentioned happy.

"You heard that?"

"I may have been in the middle of a closing, but I still heard things."

Color rose in Jared's cheeks. "I wouldn't call it dating, exactly. Not yet. But he's a good guy and I like him."

Jensen was prepared for gushing, was prepared for unnecessary description of how awesome the sex was, he was not ready for Jared to sound like this. Like he wasn't sure.

"Well, like is a good place to start."

Jared shrugged and met his eyes. "And he wants to be with me. So, you know." He made a hand wave and the subject was dropped as Jared asked him if he wanted to grab lunch.

***

Jensen spent the afternoon unable to think about anything except Jared. He went over every word Jared said to him about Matt a million times in his head, but he still has no idea if Jared is happy.

He couldn't find Jared when it was time to leave for karaoke and he wandered a few blocks out of his way before arriving at the High Note. Everyone else had already arrived, including Jared and Matt. He spotted them immediately, Matt sitting so close to Jared, and their fingers entwined.

Jared looked fine, just not the way Jensen imagined Jared being when he was with someone he really cared about. His smile was a watered-down version of Jared's usual infectious grin. He greeted everyone and sat next to Danneel, a careful eye always trained on Jared though.

Daneel asked if he was alright and when he said he was fine. He actually meant it, because something finally clicked in his brain when he remembered again what Jared had said to him earlier—Matt wanted to be with him.

Jared's ridiculous grin was missing because it was usually for Jensen.

He grabbed the song book flipping quickly through the pages. People had had just started singing so there wasn't a long list yet. He found what he was looking for and plugged in the code. Jake finished singing and Aldis was up next. Jensen stopped him a second though and whispered. "Do you mind if I go next? You can put your song back in and go right after me, I promise."

Aldis looked confused, but handed over the mic.

Jensen skipped Aldis's selection, refusing to look up at the quiet that had settle over the room as everyone looked at Jensen curiously.

Finally, the song loaded and he looked up. He stared at Jared, no question about where he was looking or who he was looking at.

He started off wobbly, barely able to get the words out, but as the first verse progressed his voice got stronger and he sang for Jared. "So come on baby come on over, Let me be the one to show you. I'm the one who wants to be with you, Deep inside I hope you feel it too, Waited on a line of greens and blues, Just to be the next to be with you."

He watched the confused expression flit over Jared's face and then maybe a look of hope. Jensen smiled just for him and kept singing. He worked his way through the second verse, and when the chorus came again, he sung like his life depended on it. "I'm the one who wants to be with you, Deep inside I hope you feel it too, Waited on a line of greens and blues, Just to be the next to be with you."

Jared's cheeks were flushed pink, but Jensen thought he just might have started to get what Jensen was saying. The song winded down and sang the last words "When it's through, it's through, Fate will twist the both of you, So come on baby come on over, Let me be the one to show you."

The room was quiet around him. Jensen thought he finally let Jared know just exactly how he felt. He couldn't move, could only see Jared. And then watched as Jared's eyes slipped from his to look at Matt. Aldis, tapped him carefully for the mic—his song was loading—and Jensen blindly handed it to him and walked from the room.

He left his jacket, but he knew Danneel would make sure it wasn't left behind. He was half-way down the block, making a beeline for the subway when he heard his name being called.

He almost didn't stop, almost didn't look back, almost missed Jared running down the street after him.

He waited, confused and maybe deep down inside a little hopeful, until Jared caught up to him. "What are you doing here?"

Jared looked at him like he had lost his mind. "What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' I came after you, you dork. You think I wouldn't?"

His eyes flicked down to the sidewalk and then back up to Jared's face as he half shrugged. "Don't know, I mean Matt's at karaoke."

Jared reached out, resting his hands on either of Jensen's shoulders. "Let me be perfectly clear. I want you, not him. And if you think I'm going to give you up for a guy I've only been with for two weeks, you're stupider than I thought."

He felt his mouth widen with probably the silliest grin he's ever had. "Really?"

Jared leaned down and rested his forehead to Jensen's. "Yes, really. I never thought in a million years you wanted me that way, if you'd said something sooner Matt wouldn't even be an issue."

They were standing so close on the sidewalk and Jared's mouth was just _right there_ that he closed the space between them and kissed him. It was a little awkward at first, but then they adjusted and Jensen slid his tongue into Jared's mouth and his knees felt weak.

They kissed on the street, until someone yelled as they walked past 'get a room.'

They broke apart, grinning stupidly. "I know a place, you want to 'get a room' with me?"

Jared pushed his shoulder. "Dork. Lead the way." Jared handed him his jacket, which Jensen hadn't even noticed Jared had until just this moment and they turned toward the subway.

***

Jensen didn't remember the subway ride, or the elevator ride up to his apartment, he didn't remember going into the apartment or pushing Jared toward his bedroom. He did definitely remember though the moment he got Jared naked and laid out in his bed. His breath caught in his throat and he froze kneeling between Jared's knees. Jared's chest was heaving as he panted heavily. His cock rose up thick and hard pressed to his belly—slippery pre-come glistening in streaks across his taut abdomen. He wanted to touch Jared everywhere at once—put his mouth on Jared's skin and get inside of him.

He wanted so much at one time he was overwhelmed, his balls were tight and they ached. He was going to come without even getting to do any of it. He shuddered and hunched over himself. Jared sat up; his palms brushed up Jensen's forearms and squeezed his biceps.

"God, Jared, I'm gonna come."

Jared kissed the round of his right shoulder and then shifted and rolled them so Jensen was on his back and Jared was hovering over him.

Jared dragged his fingertips over his over-sensitized balls and circled his fingers tightly around the base of his cock. Jared leaned down close and kissed him sloppily with tongue and teeth.

"You've got stuff?"

It took him a minute to understand what Jared was asking him—with Jared so close and his hand around his dick his brain was working a few steps behind.

"In the nightstand, top drawer."

He whimpered when Jared let go of his cock—took deep breaths trying to calm himself. Jared was back over him quickly, kissing him. He reached up, pressed his hands to Jared's back, tried to pull him closer.

"Mmphf." Jared broke the kiss and settled back on his heels. "If you do that we're both gonna come before we get to the good part."

Jared clicked open the lube, slicked his fingers pressed the tip of his forefinger to Jensen's hole. His body jerked at the touch and his legs fell open to give Jared more room. Jared worked one finger in, stretching Jensen carefully.

He moaned Jared's name and flexed his hips. "Too much, not gonna make it, just get inside me."

"I don't won't to hurt you."

His dick felt like it was going to burst. He begged, "You won't, please."

Jared quickly rolled the condom over his cock and slicked himself up. Jensen felt the nudge of the head of Jared's dick and then he pressed in, splitting him open in a way that made Jensen feel like he was going to spontaneously combust.

Jared whispered encouragements, telling him to 'hold on' and 'stay with him.' He was already wrung out and it only took a few shallow thrusts before Jensen came, shooting wet and hot over his belly.

Jared shuddered and groaned above him, started to pull back.

Jensen lifted his legs up around Jared's waist pulled him back close. "Sorry, sorry, you're so close finish. Come on." He jerked his hips up, feeling over-loaded with Jared still hard inside him.

Jared started to shake and thrust forward hard and fast, then twisted taut and came hard.

***

Jensen's alarm had been going off for ten minutes, the 1010WINS announcer repeating the weather report and that alternate side of the street parking was in effect for today.

He wanted to smack the thing off, curl back around Jared and sleep all day.

Jared.

In his bed.

Naked.

He groaned.

Even with his eyes closed he knew Jared was awake, a smirk on his lips.

He playfully shoved Jared. "Don't laugh at me." Even if he was barely holding in a laugh of his own.

"I wasn't laughing." Jensen shoved him again. "Really, I wasn't."

He rolled in close to Jared, wrapping himself around him. "Let's call out sick today. Don't want to let you out of my bed like this."

Jared kissed him lightly, a hint of something more brewing behind it. "What happened to making Partner by the time you're thirty-five."

He arched forward, chasing Jared lips. Jared however, wasn't cooperating.

"Eh, I may have to rethink my plan a little. Partner by forty doesn't sound so bad either."

Jared laughed heartily and then pounced on him, kissing him like he wasn't going to let either of them out of bed all day.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Written for [](http://deirdre-c.livejournal.com/profile)[**deirdre_c**](http://deirdre-c.livejournal.com/) for [](http://help-haiti.livejournal.com/profile)[**help_haiti**](http://help-haiti.livejournal.com/). I'm sorry it is sorely overdue.


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